It is time for the November market update. November is when we notice that Christmas is not far away as the requests for gift pieces arrive and the website orders ping into our inbox. We have almost sold out of all our ladies’ pieces, the 36mm Oyster Perpetual in turquoise and yellow being ordered online and also the 36mm Explorer being collected. The GMT Master II range is still as popular as ever and we had a steady stream of requests coming in. 

Reflecting on the market conditions as a whole, most pieces have decreased by a further 5% since the autumn but the market is most definitely showing signs that is settling now. There are also a large number of pieces that are now available for around list price however, most bi-metal pieces are still just under list price and solid gold pieces are significantly under list price. To be more specific, most of the Datejust range is around or just under list price, except the blue and mint dial variations which are still commanding a small premium. The Submariner range has been hit quite hard with a 2023 Submariner 124060 and 126610LN now around £1,000 over list. The steel GMT Master II range including the Batman/Batgirl, Pepsi and Sprite has definitely softened but we are still offering over list price to purchase. We are also starting to see the new 126 reference Daytona’s being offered and expect to stock these in the New Year. The Yacht-Master 40, both the grey and blue dials, have now stabilised but our offer to purchase is now under the RRP. 

The pieces that have suffered the hardest is the bi-metal and solid gold pieces. The new GMT Master II reference 126713GRNR has fallen significantly since its release and is proving not to be very desirable in the pre-owned market. This is in line with other bi-metal pieces such as the Rootbeer and Submariners which are now much closer to RRP. It is still the same situation with the solid gold pieces which are still falling as there is no appetite to part with a large amount of money. It is staggering to see a 2022 Daytona reference 116508 green dial now being offered for £53,000, a piece that was £120,000 only 18 months ago. It is hard to see where these solid gold pieces will settle as still currently at these seemingly low prices, they are not being picked up.

With all this being said, we will wait and see if Rolex do issue a price increase as is their usual practice on 1 January, and see what effect this may have on the pre-owned market.